London Irish can’t block player drain

LONDON IRISH coach Brian Smith already knows he faces a grim fate to hang on to his two England players, prop Alex Corbisiero and centre Jonathan Joseph, when their contracts expire at the end of the season.

Out-of-contract players are free to talk to other clubs from the new year. And already Corbisiero has been linked with Northampton, whose first-choice props, Soane Tonga’uiha and Brian Mujati, will be leaving for France.

Smith said: “Neither Alex nor Jonathan has led me up the garden path. They were quite honest in letting me know they were keen to play the field in January.

“We have made very robust offers to those lads. They know I want them to stay.”

The Irish are only a point off the bottom of the Premiership – a predicament Smith blames in part on prioritising the development of young players. Joseph is 21, Corbisiero 24.

We have made very robust offers to those lads. They know I want them to stay

Brian Smith

“I have to be honest – I don’t think we are going to keep everyone at the club,” said Smith. “Over the last few years 10 or 12 big names have left. There are still a couple to go. It’s disappointing but a fact of life.

“There are other clubs with bigger chequebooks and very proactive in tapping up players. No doubt a number of our lads have been worked on since early in the season.”

Exeter will be without prop Brett Sturgess for up to three months after the 31-year-old broke his arm in the 12-12 draw with Bath in the Premiership.